Slow AT&T 1000 Internet speed problem

Hi,

I got AT&T 1000 Internet + U-Verse installed today but ran into some strange problem that the tech couldn’t figure out. My AT&T modem diagnostic speed test shows 945 up/ 975 down from ONT to modem but hardwired Ethernet from the modem to MacBook only gets 450 up/550 down and wifi 200 up/213 down. The tech left without solving the problem. How do I solve this problem?

Sounds like you are having the same issue as I am and maybe others. After reading posts from others and working with my own situation, I'm starting to be convinced the issue is between the OLT and the rest of the world. My BGW210 is attached to the ONT in the same room with a 6' cable. The speed on the BGW210 diagnostic tab speedtest shows the purchased speed. I have a CAT6 cable between the BGW210 and my ASUS RT-N66U. Personally I don't believe the problem is with the ONT or the BGW210 set up in IP Pass-thru (or my ASUS and home network for that matter). I am starting to believe that the speed test in the BGW210 is just going to the OLT (access only). I think the issue is from the OLT into the AT&T node and out to the world. I believe AT&T is over-subscribed and this cheap residential service is being de-prioritized. Our speeds are suffering to allow enterprise business customers excellent service. Guessing AT&T won't acknowledge this but if I'm on the Internet 300 plan, I should be seeing speed tests to https://www.att.com/support/speedtest/ of at least 150M 90% of the time but I'm seeing sub-100M 99% of the time and if does get over 100M, it's like 103M. Nowhere near the 300M on the BGW speed test.

I've been reading posts like yours for awhile now, and I think is time for me to say something. AT&T is part of the problem for not training their installers on how the Internet actually works. Those installers are scripted, they just follow instructions such as plug this here, connect that over there, that's it, it works and go home. If you run a speed test, other that the one on your gateway, and you are not happy with the results, do not bother calling AT&T for service, cause they will send you another installer that all he is going to do is re-set your gateway, loosing all of your network settings,(pain) or give you another gateway, with same results.

If the speed test from your gateway using the built in speed test shows 900+ up/down,the connection to the AT&T router (server) is fine.

When people do their speed test from their PC's connected with a CAT5/6 cable and they get lesser speeds, it is not AT&T's fault.

Assuming your equipment can handle the speed, the results on the speed tests will depend entirely on the server you are connecting to. If everybody, including the AT&T installers, use the https://www.att.com/support/speedtest/ server to do their speed test, that server most likely will be overloaded and unable to give you the bandwidth your system can handle.

As I am typing this, I did a speedtest at speedtest.att.com and the result was 570/288, which is not near the 940 up/down I should be getting with my gigabit connection.

I just did a speedtest with the Ookla app by manually selecting another server and got 930/854. My connection is fine, but of course, if I go for what the first speed test tells me, is bad. Download the Speedtest by Ookla app to your PC and try different servers, you will find one that is not at full capacity. Another thing, the internet is like your city streets. Traffic gets re-routed when there is construction going on, or a car crash, or a parade. When internet backbones get overloaded, traffic gets re-routed, it will take longer getting to you thus increasing the ping times. If you do a trace route to your destination server, you will see the path your data is taking, each one is a hop, and the more hops the higher the pings, slower output. When I first got my Gigabit plan hooked up, I had a 2ms ping to the att server, located 20 miles from my house. AT&T moved my connection to another server located more than 80 miles and now my pings are 12-14 ms. I guess they did this to offload their server. The fastest server I've found is 183 miles away., with an 8ms ping. Weird, isn't it?

Note: DO NOT do any test with your browser, specially using the default servers, use the app. I also use a shareware program called Bandwidth monitor, the stopwatch function that shows the actual connection speed during the transfers, the peak speeds and average. Very useful.

To both of you: download the Speedtest by Ookla to your PC and select from the list of servers available, do not use the default server.. You will find one that will give you the speed your system can handle. If you are getting those speeds when using the gateway internal speed test, then your connection is fine. If your PC/MAC is relatively new and your cables are CAT5 or 6, then your speeds will depend entirely on the test server you are connecting to. Many of those test servers are overloaded with people doing tests and can't handle Gigabit speeds, they don't have enough bandwidth for everyone. Also, do not use a web browser to do the test, use the downloaded app. Don't bother calling AT&T service tech because there is nothing they can do when everything is fine on your end.

A test on speedtest.att.com shows my connection speeds at 477.5/281.3,

A test using Ookla app connected to a server 183 miles away: 923/718.7 8ms ping

i was getting the correect speed. then all of a sudden it (Edited per community guidelines). and to find out many people are having the same issues i do believe it is at&t equipment. will be switching to spectrum soon

I wish I could get spectrum anyway although it has less speed for sure. They are contract free, you can use your own equipment and save, and you have the option to get lower speeds with better rates. I don't need giga speed like you do. 200 M is enough for me. The problem is my location has no other option than ATT 1gig, NONE!

@Happy-Camper DUDE... THANK YOU!!!!! I was legit depressed I couldn't figure this out. It is definitely a limitation somewhere in the browser causing the inconsistent speeds. The second I got the desktop speedtest app I FINALLY saw the speeds that my gateway was reporting (940/940) when before I was only seeing the full upload but not the download. AMAZING. Thank you!!

You won't be able to get full speed on WiFi. When I connect to my Gateway using a latest Netgear USB 3 AC Network interface, the best I can get is 370 Mbps. I tried using an AC Asus Router set up as an access [point, and the results were actually slower. The AT&T Gateway, with my floor plan, is actually better than my Asus router.

I have had AT&T out to my place 19 times last year and 2 times this year. I am just tired of wasting my life on them. Unfortunately, I am stuck using them since they are the only provider in my community. Standard practice for every tech is like clock-work, replace the router, test, replace the ONT, retest, clean the fiber end, retest, go outside and clean the fiber, retest, come back inside and say, "well we got you all fixed up". Then I test both using Wi-Fi and Hardline, NO GO!! The the tech is normally at my place for about 4-6hours on the phone with anyone that will talk to them. They about scratch all their hair out of their heads.. The last time the sent some clown to try and sell me a Cell phone plan along with a TV plan. What the heck.. I don't need that crap. I have Verizon cell service and it's more reliable then the Uverse. Heck i have even showed the tech how I can hotspot off my cell and get better speeds and more consistent connection then the Uverse.

When I first had Gigapower,it was smoking fast! I was ranging between, 900mb-1.5gb dwn, / 1.0gb-1.5 up. Now mine ranges from 50mb-900mb dwn / 300mb-970mb up in a matter of minutes. It's always random and never consistent. I have talked to AT&T engineers, etc., you name it. Nothing works like it did. I have all of my stuff hardwired, apple tv, playstation, xbox, smart tv, etc. Only one of them is on the network at any given time. My macbook pro and iphone x are the only items on the Wi-Fi. This is ridiculous AT&T!! I pay my bill in full every month, at least you could give me a consistent 70& or better.. I wish I could pay for what I actually get.

When you mention that to AT&T, all they say is.. You can always switch to the 300mb plan. Then what? Even worse performance.

What do you use to test your speeds? I got frustrated at first too, butthen I discovered that my problem was that I was testing my speeds by usingthe att&t server or the default servers on Speedtest by Ookla. I startedchecking speeds on servers that were not as busy and discovered some thatwere giving me the speed I pay for (1 gig). That tells me right there thatthere is nothing wrong at my locations (home) or the connection from myhome to the AT&T server. Give it a try. Download the Speedtest app anduse that instead of your browser.I had AT&T for almost a year and I am very happy with the service. I dohave other choices in my neighborhood, but like they say, sometimes thegrass is not always greener on the other side of the fence....

Did all that. Speedtest and speak easy only show 200ish, and that is after testing a bunch of their different servers. Fast.com, google fiber speed test, and att speed test were the only sites that would show 800ish speeds which are acceptable. Why would speedtest.net only snow 200ish?

If you get speeds in the 800's from one server, that proves that your att&t link is fine.With 1 gig fiber becoming more available, running speed tests is putting a lot of stress on those servers bandwidth. When our connections were slower, like DSL, we were testing to see how fast our connections were, but now, with fiber, we are really testing to see if those servers can keep up with us. By the way, Fast.com gives me 220 Mbps while others are in the 800's with peaks in the 900+.I use a simple analogy to explain internet speeds. Imagine you have a Ferrari that can run at 300 MP/H. The only way you can achieve that speed is at a race track, on a straight lane and with no other cars in the way. In real life, you drive it on city streets, where you are faced with speed traps, construction zones, car crashes that force you to detour, etc; You will get there, it will take longer, but you will reach your destination.The internet is made of backbones that carry huge amounts of data. Our homes are connected to our service providers who in turn connect to those back bones. Along the way there are routers and switches that direct traffic, making sure that it will reach its destination, even when one of the switches or routers in the network go down or a cable is damaged by a construction crew. Those routers will switch your data to another pipe so it will get there. It will be slower though.....The internet highway is not owned by a single entity, there many companies that own those back bones. AT&T can not be responsible if a backbone owned by another company, lets say in California, is running slow because of mismanagement, causing your connection to a server in California to run slow. You heard of Net Neutrality, I am sure. It's been a hot political issue for awhile now. Companies want providers to pay for using their backbones, just like you do on toll roads. Knowing that there is nothing wrong with my setup at my home and between my home and AT&T is what gives me a peace of mind. Take care.

perhaps you are right. At the end of the day all this has taught me is that there is zero reason to pay for gig service since you will never be able to leverage that pipe (or take the ferrari to the track if you will). The 300 plan has been treating me well

Shawooa, keep in mind that each connection to the internet will draw as much data as fast as possible, and if you have several connections at the same time, your 300 pipe will fill up pretty quick. You could still benefit for the 1000 pipe.In my house is just two of us, but we both stream in 4k, plus netflix and prime video, HBO, etc. I also download games in my PS4 and PC. Also have a security system with several cameras, all streaming at the same time through my network. A 300 plan would not be enough for what we do here, it would create a major bottle neck. The It's all about the "SUM of all connections." Bottom line, whatever works for you. Take care.

There is nothing wrong with those speeds. It's doubtful you'll ever actually see 1000 mbps. I used to get around 926, but am now down to around 300 wireless. Gonna switch to the 300 plan and save some bucks.